Fantasy related but good info....
Rudy Can Fail
I got an email from a reader yesterday, shocked that I didn't talk about Rudy Gay's injury in the Daily Dose on Tuesday. About that time, my laptop crashed (again) so I had Adam Levitan take a look around to see if he could find any news of Gay's injury. And, of course, that report turned up nothing, other than the fact he was good to go for last night after playing 40 minutes in his previous game. And then once game-time rolled around, Gay wasn't anywhere to be found, out with a toe injury. And even as of Wednesday morning, we still haven't found out details on his injury, so I'm guessing he's day-to-day.
And at the end of last night's game, which I was watching, Zach Randolph sprained his left ankle when he stepped on Serge Ibaka's foot. He stayed in the game, but was clearly in pain and could be iffy for Friday. I'm guessing, since we didn't hear a word about Gay, we won't hear much about Z-Bo before Friday. Memphis is no Milwaukee when it comes to being a fantasy news black hole, but with a smaller market/staff, it's sometimes tough to get updates on Grizzlies' injuries. Either way, let's just hope both guys are ready to go on Friday against the, wait for it, Bucks.
I can tell you that nothing frustrates me more than seeing a surprise DNP that we didn't know about. It doesn't happen often, and I'm pretty sure if we didn't know, no one else did either, but it still puts me in a pretty foul mood for a few hours when it happens.
[SIZE=+1]Things We Learned On Tuesday[/SIZE]
Nothing Melo About Drama
My wife, who works with a bunch of computer geeks young enough to be our kids, sent me an IM yesterday, telling me that Carmelo Anthony was being traded to the Lakers, with Andrew Bynum heading out of California. Assuming that she heard it on TMZ, I ignored her and kept moving, while she later let me know that one of the guys in her office said Twitter was blowing up about 'Melo to the Lakers.' The common belief here is that the Nuggets are using the Lakers for leverage against the Knicks, although if Melo is really willing to sign an extension with the Lakers, things could get interesting. I still think the Knicks are in the driver's seat here, but if they don't get something done by the deadline, and then let Donnie Walsh walk and bring in Isiah Thomas? Melo and La La probably aren't going to New York, making L.A. a real possibility. But Lakers executive Jim Buss reportedly has no interest in trading Bynum though, so this deal doesn't look like it's going to happen. I think this is enough space dedicated to the Melo-drama in a fantasy column, don't you?
Jrue Holiday Used To Be A Point Guard
Jrue Holiday's slump continued on Tuesday, as he managed to make it through an entire game (a blowout win over the Hawks) without handing out an assist. The rest of his line was fine (15 points, two steals, two blocks), but he's not in our lineups to block shots. He's tallied just seven assists in his last three games, but at least scored last night, after totaling eight points in his previous two. Andre Iguodala is racking up dimes like a point guard right now, but I'm still not throwing in the towel on Jrue. This is a slump.
Brandon Roy Is An Optimist
After Brandon Roy shook the fantasy foundation by proclaiming himself back this weekend, Nate McMillan stepped in to stop the stampede to the waiver wire, saying that he didn't expect Roy to play this week. Either way, it sounds like Roy is relatively pain free and should return to the court in the near future. However, I'm not touching him in weekly leagues, as the chance of him making it too long without missing games is very low. I'd let someone else deal with the headache, unless you are cutting a useless player in order to pick him up.
Looks Like We Picked The Wrong Day To Stop Rolling Tony Allen
With Rudy's surprise DNP last night, Tony Allen started and went off for a season-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, along with some fantasy gold in the form of five steals and three blocks. There was no reason to have him in lineups last night, but if you did, nice work. You have to think Gay will be back on Friday, while Sam Young (14 points, three boards, three assists, a steal, a block) continues to play well. If you want to take a flier on Allen (cutting someone you never start), it makes sense, but I am not ready to cut a Young, Christian Eyenga or Landry Fields for him. The title of this paragraph was inspired by my buddy Jeff Andriesse, who tweeted something about dropping Allen earlier in the day Tuesday.
Baron Davis Is Still A Very Good Basketball Player
I got into it with a guy on Twitter very early in the season about Baron. I said he was washed up, while he insisted he was still a beast. It was a long and shaky start to the season for Baron, but he is rolling right now, going off for a season-high 25 points to go along with eight boards, eight assists, three steals and four 3-pointers. His season, and possibly life, has been rejuvenated by playing alongside Blake Griffin and slumping DeAndre Jordan, while the absence of Eric Gordon might even be helping Davis. He hurt his back recently and I really thought he was going to miss time, but he's obviously good to go (for now). I haven't heard from the guy on Twitter since, but he really should have sent me an "I told ya so."
And speaking of Gordon, there's no new news to report on his wrist after he met with a couple more doctors recently, but it does sound like he's going to be out through the All-Star break. Randy Foye has been struggling (3-of-13 last night), but is still probably worth hanging onto.
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Scott Skiles Doesn't Like You
Remember when Carlos Delfino was getting 45 minutes a night and looked like a can't-miss fantasy player going forward? Yeah, that as pretty cool. Scott Skiles changed his mind on Tuesday and decided to start John Salmons (and Corey Maggette) so he could bring Delfino off the bench. The result was a bunch of mediocre production from the starting unit, while Delfino had nine points in just 22 minutes. Salmons is now worth grabbing (again) after his 17 points, six boards, steal and three, but as I've been saying since October, this team is a fantasy disaster. And you can bet that Skiles is going to change his mind a couple more times before we're done. My guess is Maggette (16 points, 9 boards) is his next victim, while we're all still waiting for Brandon Jennings (6-of-14 for 12 points) to start playing basketball this season. As my boys in Dinosaur Jr. say at the end of Freak Scene, "What a mess."
Waiver Wired Wiz Kid
DeJuan Blair hit 9-of-15 shots for 18 points and 12 boards Tuesday. He was the Waiver Wired cover boy this week, and while he'll still be inconsistent, he should be picked up in all leagues as Gregg Popovich is ready to put the plane on autopilot (still funny, even if not in engish). Ike Diogu, a deep call in WW, had 18 points and five boards, and has actually been outplaying DeAndre Jordan. And now that Chris Kaman is supposedly day-to-day, it might be time to drop Jordan. I'm still hanging on, and I wish that last night's poor line could just be blamed on Dwight Howard, but he's been in a wicked slump lately.
Chauncey's Knee Is Still Intact
An MRI on the left knee of Chauncey Billups brought good news yesterday and he's day-to-day. If you picked up Ty Lawson due to Billups' injury, you may as well hold onto him until the trade deadline comes and goes.
Blake Griffin's Path Of Destruction
OK, maybe that headline was a little strong, but his chest-to-chest takedown of Al Horford, which caused Horford to land somewhat violently on his back, caused him to miss his second straight game on Tuesday. This was another one that came out of nowhere, and hopefully Horford is back at it on Saturday against the Bobcats. It was a two-game week for the Hawks and I hope they were on your bench, as the entire team, outside of Josh Smith, took the night off against the Sixers.
Kevin Love Is A Very Good Rebounder
Kevin Love racked up his 38th straight double-double last night, breaking Kevin Garnett's team record last night. He finished with 20 points, 14 boards and three more 3-pointers. It's amazing to me that a guy who can rebound like that can also hit threes. Moses Malone had 44 straight double-doubles back in 1982-83, and is next on Love's hit list.
Michael Beasley (ankle), Luke Ridnour (personal) and Darko Milicic (hip) were all out last night, meaning Wesley Johnson (13 points, 6 boards), Jonny Flynn (15 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 5 TOs) and Nikola Pekovic (6 points, 7 boards) started. Wayne Ellington scored 18 points, as all the injured players remain day-to-day with their injuries. Obviously, Johnson and Pekovic are worth a look, but are not must-add players for Kurt Rambis. And don't look now, but the Wolves have won two straight on the road. That's right. Darko says he heard a 'pop' in his hip, but is still considered day-to-day. It might be time to let 'Manna from Heaven' go, as he's just too injury prone.
[SIZE=+1]Tuesday Roundup, Quick Hit Style[/SIZE]
Roddy Beaubois practiced and might be ready by the All-Star break.
Nene is questionable again with the flu tonight vs. GSW.
Ronny Turiaf's (ankle) out and Timofey Mozgov will start, which could last.
Paul Millsap has a toe injury, but will just cut it off if it's bothering him at tip.
Roy Hibbert had 20 points, 10 boards and 3 steals last night. Welcome back!
Dahntay Jones scored 11 points for IND and is worth a deep-league look.
Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points, but just two boards off the bench.
Mike Dunleavy (2 points, 15 minutes) was benched for defensive reasons.
LeBron James had 41 p, 13 r, 8 a, 3 s, 1 b and 2 3s. Nice.
Mario Chalmers had 16 points, but don't think about him.
Will Bynum had 21 points, but isn't worth owning with Stuckey back.
Rodney Stuckey had 10 points and 3 dimes in 28 minutes in his return.
Greg Monroe had another double-double with 14 & 13, but lack of blocks hurts.
Tracy McGrady was quiet in 24 minutes, but was due for an off night.
Austin Daye played 28 minutes and is worth a pickup (again) in most leagues.
Courtney Lee had 23 points, but is a shaky pickup. Let's see him do it again.
Aaron Brooks returned from susp., but hit 1-of-8 shots as nightmare continues.
Dwight Howard had 22 & 20, 2 steals and a block, his 5th 20-20 this year.
Leandro Barbosa returned for 8 points in 25 minutes, so give him a look.
Amir Johnson hit just 1-of-7 shots for 5 points, 11 boards, 2 blocks. Must-own.
Serge Ibaka fought through rib injury for 6 points, 14 boards, 3 blocks. Warrior.
Jeff Green cooled off for 2-of-12 shooting, 7 points, 7 boards. Buy-low.
Nick Young (knee) is expected to play for Wiz tonight.
Chuck Hayes stayed hot w/ 10 points, 13 boards, 5 steals. That's three double-doubles in his last four games.
Darko Milicic - F/C - Timberwolves </TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=bodyCopy>Darko Milicic said he "felt something pop" in his left hip during Monday's game in New Orleans.</TD></TR><TR><TD>
